Pakistan complete Windies Twenty20 sweep

Pakistan have beaten the West Indies by 11 runs to take their Twenty20 series 2-0, amid claims of suspicious betting patterns in the preceding ODI series.

Pakistan complete Windies Twenty20 sweep

Pakistan held off a late surge by the the West Indies to take the second and final T20 by 11 runs.

Pakistan held off a desperate late surge by the West Indies to take the second and final Twenty20 international by 11 runs at the Arnos Vale Stadium in St Vincent on Sunday.

In restricting the hosts to 9-124, chasing their total of 7-135, the tourists took the series 2-0 and moved to second in the international rankings behind Sri Lanka.

The West Indies, the world T20 champions, dropped to fourth following hard on the heels of the 3-1 loss to Pakistan in the preceding one-day series.

"When we saw the pitch, we knew, with our four spinners, that any total of 135-140 would have given us a chance," said a delighted Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez.

An unbeaten 46 by man of the match Umar Akmal and 44 from Ahmed Shehzad paced Pakistan to a total that was always going to be challenging on a slow, turning surface.

Spinners Sunil Narine and Samuel Badree shared five wickets for the Windies in what was an ominous precursor of the task the home side faced.

After looking gone at 4-17, the Caribbean side fought back with a battling top score of 35 from Dwayne Bravo and an aggressive 28 from Narine.

A pivotal 17th over by Zulfiqar Babar featured two Kieron Pollard sixes and two fours off the first four deliveries before the spinner took two wickets in two balls - first Pollard, then Bravo.

"When Asian teams come to the Caribbean, maybe we shouldn't be giving them these types of wickets," said a disappointed captain Darren Sammy in reflecting on the pitches not only for the T20s but also the preceding ODIs in Guyana and St Lucia.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said it was very concerned over British newspaper, The Mail on Sunday's report that the ODI series with the Windies was being investigated for alleged suspicious betting patterns.

"The PCB is obviously extremely concerned at the recent allegations of fixing reported in the media with regard to the recently concluded ODI series between Pakistan and West Indies," an official said.

"The PCB maintains zero tolerance towards corruption in the game but investigations in this matter fall within the purview of the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit.

"The PCB is in contact with the ICC on this issue and understands that the ICC will be issuing a media release soon."


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Source: AAP


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